Jim McIntyre
James Lee "Jim" McIntyre (/ˈmækəntaɪər/ ''mak-ən-tye-ər'', 7 May 1921 – 23 December 2014) was a Craftian military officer and statesman who served as the 11th Premier of the Province of Craftia from 1974 to 1982. He was the longest-serving leader of Craftia during its time as a province of the Miners Republic, successfully leading Craftia through the period when it was directly threatened by Minean advance in the Craftian War of Independence, and today is widely regarded as one of Craftia's greatest leaders in history. Before entering politics, McIntyre served as a highly ranked military officer in the 1940s and 1950s. He entered the provincial parliament through a by-election in the rural seat of Lumina South in 1960. He was quickly promoted to the National Party frontbench and served the Minister for Infrastructure (1963–1966), Minister for Finance and the Economy (1966–1968) when the Nationals came to power in the 1963 election. He became the Deputy Leader of the National Party in 1966 and by that virtue became the Deputy Premier of the Province of Craftia, serving until the Nationals lost the the National Labour Party in the 1968 election. McIntyre then became the Leader of the Opposition of the Province of Craftia in 1969 after defeating Wilbur Joyce in a leadership spill. The Nationals under McIntyre gained further ground in the 1971 election, and defeated the two-term Labour Government in a landslide in 1974, enabling McIntyre to become the 11th Premier. The McIntyre Government quickly began economically liberal reforms, infuriating the Miners Republic while winning over the Craftian public, allowing him to be re-elected in 1976 with ease. Under the National Government, nationalist and separatist sentiments among the public increased significantly, eventually boiling over into an open war with the Miners Republic in 1978. This became the Craftian War of Independence, and raged on for nearly 9 years. McIntyre's incumbency gave him an advantage in the wartime 1979 election, but as the war stalemated multiple times throughout 1980 and 1981, and after a series of military setbacks and blunders, his popularity plummeted and his government was defeated by the new Craftia Liberty Party in 1982. After his tenure as premier he continued to serve as the Leader of the Opposition through to 1986, the first Leader of the Opposition of the Republic of Craftia from 1987 to 1990, the Deputy Prime Minister of Craftia throughout most of 1990, and Speaker of the Craftian House of Representatives from 1992 to 1995. He continued to serve as a Member of Parliament as a vocal crossbencher after his party declined in popularity throughout the 1990s and 2000s. McIntyre entered the provincial parliament in 1960, and served in parliament for more than 54 years before his death in 2014, aged 93. He is the longest-serving member of the Craftian Parliament ever, a record that still stands today. His authoritative figure enabled him to serve as the longtime leader of the National Party of Craftia for over 45 years (from 1969 to his death in 2014), also a record.